Subject: General GTA4 [Print This Page] Author:
xafhl Time: 2-7-2008 02:28 AM Subject: General GTA4
Grand Theft Auto IV (referred to as GTA IV or GTA4) will be the eleventh Grand Theft Auto game in the series. Take Two and Rockstar Games Currently have 150 developers working on the game and work has been in progress since 2004, right after San Andreas was released. Since then, the game has been developed by Rockstar teams in Edinburgh, San Diego, and New York.
Title: Grand Theft Auto IV
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Platforms: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Rating: AUS: MA 15+
GTA4 Setting
Introduction To Liberty City
The game is set in fictional Liberty City, based on the real life city of New York. This will be the 5th time Liberty City has been the setting of a Grand Theft Auto game; Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto Advance, Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories and now Grand Theft Auto IV. Players may also remember visiting a snowy Liberty City in one mission on GTA San Andreas. As you can see, Rockstar Games have a soft spot for their first real living and breathing city.
What's It Look Like?
The new Liberty City is not a direct, block for block, replica, but it resembles a striking resemblance to New York City. It is set in modern day, somewhere around 2006 or 2007. The city has 4 of the 5 boroughs of New York and parts of New Jersey. Staten Island is not in the game because Rockstar believed it would not be fun there. Also, Alderney is the largest of the 5 boroughs. The statue of Liberty is in the game and you can go to it by swimming or by boat.
GTA4 Gameplay
Pedestrian Interaction
* Peds smoke cigarettes, read books, and carry on conversations. If you point a gun at a certain pedestrian, they will remember you, and run away next time they see you.
* Peds are SOOOO much more different. The skin of a pedestrian may be the same, but their clothes and style is different.
* Bums can be seen warming their hands in a burning trashcan in an alleyway. Hot Dog Venders scream for people to buy their wieners.
* Not only Niko, but all Peds can store items in their trunks.
* You can be mugged by other criminals.
* You can bribe characters.
* When a near car collided with another, a pedestrian exclaimed "That was f***** up!".
* Niko can use taxis to get around (presumably he can use the phone to call a taxi). The police are much more vigilant in GTA IV, and sometimes it is less hassle using a taxi than jacking someone's car.
* The taxi driver will play a significant roll into the gameplay. If Niko wants to go to point B, from point A, on the map, he can take the ride with just a push of the Y or Triangle button. This time around though, the taxi-driver will fulfill some special wishes. If Niko is hungry, the Yellow Cab will drive him to the next Food restaurant. If Niko is hurt, then the taxi-driver will drive to the hospital. So, each place is reachable by taxi in a few seconds. However, you can't catch a cab, while police are after you.
Police Interaction
* The Police are now more advanced than ever taking after the real world cops of today (NOT!!). Since it is harder to be a criminal in today's world, the police are harder on criminals.
* Cops will sport more than just the nightstick and Colt 45.
* They are more intelligent when it comes to spotting a stolen car. Your broken window will give it away.
* Committing crimes isn't as easy in GTA IV. You gain a wanted level for every crime you commit, as long as there are witnesses present. Once you have gained a wanted level, a visible (circular) search area appears on the radar, and if you escape this area without being spotted, your wanted level will flash and disappear. If you are spotted, however, the search area's position changes, and centers on where you were last spotted. So unlike previous GTA games, the police don't always know where you are. They can't catch you unless they find you first. It was confirmed previously that in GTA IV every street will be named, and this is what cops use to communicate when they are tracking you down. There are no Pay N' Spray's to save you this time, unfortunately.
* Once you gain a wanted-level, the map flashes with circles of blue and red, with each circle representing the line of sight of the police chase. The circles differ in size depending on your wanted-level.
* There are 6 levels to the wanted level.
* Cops now can crouch to improve their accuracy for the long-range shot at you.
* Police will appear on the map as 'dots', while they are on search for you.
Niko
* In GTA IV you have to develop relationships with other characters. Your relationship with Little Jacob, for example, is maintained through phone calls and loyalty. Developing good relationships with different characters can provide different rewards.
* Like in San Andreas, eating and sleeping will allow you to recharge your health, though you won't find any health pick-up floating around the city.
* GTA IV will include a pool mini-game, and many other mini-games. "You'll play at least some of these while hanging out with NPCs like Little Jacob.
Cell Phone
Niko now can use the mobile phone. This will be use to make calls to contacts and such. Game Informer describes the new phone as such: "Bellic then pulls out his cellphone, which has options for Phonebook, Messages, Organizer, and Camera on its LCD screen. He selects Phonebook, and he is then presented with another set of options: City Contact, Docks Friend, and Cab Contact." Your mobile phone acts as a calendar, a vessel for text messages, an alarm and even a camera.- Niko Bellic uses his mobile phone and the Internet, on regular basis. Niko mobile phone is a phone, messenger, Organizer, photo camera and GPS - all in one. The map will have GPS, which shows you the best way (will be colored in Yellow) towards your target. If you’re in a mission, the map not only shows a symbol, but even a line with the best route.
Niko doesn't have to accept phone calls if he doesn't want to, but if someone is intent on reaching him, they'll become increasingly annoyed. By the way, the name of the cell network is Whiz.
Internet
Niko can use the internet in GTA4. He heads over to an internet café called the "Tw@ Café," and hops onto a PC before surfing. The web is available from any computer in the game, and provides a hub for all sorts of interactivity within Liberty City. It costs a dollar to get online and is totally wireless. Niko has his own account that is accessible from any computer in the city. Inside the cafe, all terminals are neatly laid out and it is basically the same as a standard looking Cyber cafe. The Tw@ Cafe is located in Algonquin near Middle Park.
Pressing LB will make Niko sit down on the terminal, once sat at the terminal, the screen is displayed, as you would see it on your monitor. You can control the (mouser) pointer with the analogue stick of the Xbox 360 controller. R* asked the reporters not to write about some of the web addresses that appeared while browsing GTA's quirky version of the web, "because it's still stuff that's being worked on at the moment"; interestingly they checked out some of the domain names they noted down on WHOIS and none are registered by Take 2 yet.
Missions
* Missions in GTA IV can be interrupted. The interview isn't until tomorrow, which means you can carry out other business until then. This suggests you can do several missions at the same time, and missions can take place over several days, perhaps.
* Determining which figures you need to kill requires perception - there are no arrowheads to direct you like in the previous games.
Call And Collect
* Next in the demo, Niko pays a visit to somebody called McReary, at Castle Gardens, a coast-side hangout overlooking the Statue of Happiness. McReary has had a memory stick stolen from him which contains sensitive data, and he wants Niko to retrieve it for him. He takes another cab to the meeting point, where the target is standing amongst a crowd of people. The problem is he doesn't know which one it is, so he gives him a call to see which one picks up their phone. Niko shoots the target three times in the back of the head, before taking the memory stick and making a run for it. He gains a three-star wanted level as a result.
* Before heading off to the interview, Niko goes to a menswear store called Perseus. After spending $2,000 on a new suit and shoes, his phone alarm sounds and he begins his journey to the GLS offices for his interview. He speaks to the receptionist from outside the building via intercom, before making his way into the building. He enters Goldeberg's office and puts a bullet in his head, which causes his secretary to trigger the alarm. Niko must beat security guards and police in order to get out of the building. Bullets rain down on him, and there's a police chopper waiting outside. It seems as though the more bullets he takes, the more damage he takes, and hence he becomes less able to fight. The damage is actually visible this time.
* Rockstar showed the sequence where he kills Goldberg twice. The first time he fell out of the window, the second time he merely crumpled on the floor.
* If you escape the building the mission is complete.
* Niko instead opts to get his hands dirty in a massive outside shootout, in an area full of opportunities for cover. Cops, pedestrians, traffic and choppers all get in on the action, and Niko even blows up a gas station for the hell of it with some carefully aimed shots at the refill terminal when he switches the weapon to the Micro SMG. Awesome, as it explodes out in different directions out of the pump and the screen shakes with a bassy boom. Eventually, Niko dies in the action, after a while.
* As soon he dies, he falls to the ground and the camera pans high looking downwards to show that you've botched the job up.
Liberty City
* It is possible to rob the many stores that make their way into this game.
* The city will be affected of the time of the day.
* Broken beer bottles and trash litter the floor.
* GTA IV map is confirmed to be the same size as San Andreas and probably slightly bigger.
* Rockstar has decided to completely clog the streets from the times 9 and 5, but at nighttime, it is a dead a dreary city.
* There will be TONS of leisure activities.
* No AmmuNation shops anymore.
* Little focus on building business empires this time - it makes no sense to continue living a criminal life if you're pulling in lucrative results at your pizza parlour, nightclub or taxi rank. Property Ladder aspects from Vice City and San Andreas DENIED in GTA IV.
* You'll be able to reach the Statue of Happiness. You can go over there by swimming or by a boat.
* There's a theater show on called T.S. Pirate at the Thespian Theater, as well as a camera store called Liberty Cameras.
* Niko sets off for Rotterdam on a breezy motorbike ride, and stopped next to a pizza store that sells pizzas at the very reasonable price of 99¢, and a large cocktail bar lit up in fluorescent pink called Bahama Mamas.
HUD and Menu
* The HUD has been streamlined to only a few displays.
* The map remains, sensibly, as does the wanted level and the money
* But visuals on the map in the demo are reduced to mere blips in the top corner of the impressive display.
* The HUD was a streamlined version which just displays the area of the city you are in (for a second or two) and the weapons you are holding.
* The menu displayed: map, game, brief, stats, controls, audio and display.
* Last when demo was paused the map was shown for a few split seconds and from the looks of it, its like 2 huge islands connected in the middle.
Misc.
* Rampages, Unique Jumps and Rhinos MIGHT be cut from the game.
* As could be expected, gangs are in the game.
* Girlfriends are still included in GTA.
* The mob will be featured in the game but not heavily, along with the Russian mafia.
* The mobile phone can be used to gain weapons. In the demo that GamesTM saw, Niko calls his associate Little Jacob, who is a caribbean arms dealer. After a brief chat with Jacob, he tells Niko to meet him in an alleyway in Rotterdam Hill, where he purchases the weapons from him. No more Ammu-Nation it seems.Author:
xafhl Time: 2-7-2008 02:31 AM
GTA4 Graphics
R.A.G.E.
RAGE is Rockstar's new next generation gaming Engine. The acronym is Rockstar's Advanced Game Engine. This is used in the graphics of Rockstar's game released on Xbox 360, Rockstar Games Table Tennis. This offers much more varied terrains, as well as interactiveness.
* New weather effects have been implemented. Now, there are seasons. New, fantastic lighting effects will be implemented. The sunlight reflecting off of gl**** cars and buildings have never been seen in previous Grand Theft Autos.
* The buildings are not just copies and copies now. They will be more varied than they have been in the past. This also will provide much more detail in models of cars and roads.
* Roads were all alike in past GTAs. In the streets of Liberty, some roads have potholes and metal plates where construction has taken place.
* With this engine reflections are also a big thing. See yourself in a car door, looking in your rearview mirror, and spotting yourself strut your stuff past a glass building gives Liberty City the New York feel...
* NO more loading time when entering buildings and such. There will be a fair amount of loading before the game since there will never be loading again.
* The graphics are so much more detailed than before. Such as, Niko's face and body cannot be changed (ex: getting fatter) because his physique is so greatly detailed.
* In terms of scale, GTA IV is about the same size as GTA: San Andreas. There is no desert or countryside because this would be a waste of space. As so, GTA IV is not as big as San Andreas, but there is SO MUCH more detail going down to every little light pole. It is the single biggest city ever in a GTA game though.
Euphoria
Euphoria System is implemented into the game and gaming system that implements the human body and nervous system, doing away with script animations. The character will act how it needs to while performing real life tasks.
Examples....
* When Niko runs, his weight can be felt as he turns corners, runs down steps, and jumps. He may so down to take a turn into an alleyway while running. When walking, Niko automatically dropped his shoulders in order to squeeze past pedestrians walking on the pavement, and his footsteps and sense of balance adjusted to uneven patches of the street, as well as stairs and the rungs on the telegraph pole he climbed. As Niko continued descending a small hill further down the road, we noticed the way his weight seemed to shift backwards a little, as though he was saving himself from just pitching fowards and setting off into a run. He looked exactly like someone walking down a hill does. You can walk, jog, or sprint. Latter will make you exhausted after a while.
* Niko can climb many things that are...well...climbable: ladders, fire escapes, poles.
* Getting nudged by a slow moving car will likely result in an "I'm walkin' here" kind of reaction,whereas getting hit at top speed will see you dragged under the wheels, rolled up and over the bonnet or flung sideways - it all depends on what direction you were facing, the speed of the car, how fast you were walking, and so on.
* Changing Niko's clothes is confirmed but you cannot change his physique. When purchasing clothes, you have to choose the items from the shelf individually.
* Niko CAN swim and his motions are said to be lifelike and amazing.
* Getting shot in the leg results in a limp. Shot in the head means death. Now, an enemy, as well as yours, reacts to where they are shot, what they are shot with, and WHERE they are shot. Think of it like this was the game Clue....Shot in the stomach. With a shotgun. Next to a window. You would fall out of the window to your doom. Or this.....Shot in the leg. With a pistol. On some stairs. You would tumble tumble tumble down each step of the stairs.
GTA4 Characters
Rockstar has said that most of the characters seen in past Grand Theft Auto's will not be returning. On the other hand, Houser was asked if there would be any returning characters and he gave an intriguing smile... Perplexed are we?
Niko Bellic
An Eastern European immigrant in his mid-thirties, who has come to Liberty City to pursue the "American Dream". He is a tough character and is in his mid thirties. He is said to be very experienced at handling weaponry.
Roman
Roman is a friendly buffoon. He is heavily in a debt and everyone is after him, so he turns to his cousin for help. He runs a taxi depot in Broker, and it is a floundering business. It seems like Roman's laundry list of problems doesn't have an end in sight.
Vlad
Vlad views himself as the supreme ruler of Hove Beach despite the fact he's actually very low on the totem pole. He's constantly trying to get in with the more powerful crime lords of Liberty City while only running mostly minor protection rackets.
Elizabeta
For over a decade Elizabeta has been a very successful drug dealer in Bohan, mostly because she knows how to keep a low profile with Liberty City’s finest. However she knows an upcoming drug *****down is going to make her life very difficult and with her own narcotic use spiraling out of control she’s becoming increasingly paranoid and delusional.
Manny
When Manny was a young man he was a hoodlum, involved with the people who created graffiti, hip-hop and breakdancing. But he never was one to draw attention to himself and apparently nobody knows about his great triumphs...except for him. Now he’s turned over a new leaf and is all about cleaning up the neighborhood and keeping the kids off the streets and out of trouble, and to prove it he’s out to make a documentary about himself and his struggle.
Brucie
Brucie is a man of many different faces. He’s really into bodybuilding, a car nut, and a major VIP (if he does say so himself). He’s loud, he’s into hip-hop way too much, and he’s always going to make sure you know exactly how much money he’s got. He’s got nothing but the finest women, accessories, and anabolic steroids...just like the men in the magazines he reads. That’s how he rolls.
Little Jacob
He is a Jamaican arms dealer. Seems as if he is your contact for weapons early in the game and you can call him with your cell phone. When you go to his car trunk, you scroll through the weapons like you did at the Ammu-Nations in previous GTA's. He lives in Rotterdam in the Dukes borough of Liberty City.
Francis McReary
This bastard is a corrupt cop. He knows of a felony Niko has committed, and uses it as blackmail against him.
Bryce Dawkins
Deputy Mayor Bryce Dawkins is a very strong conservative member of Liberty City's government. Known throughout the city for his Health Initiatives, including an ad campaign in support of abstinence.
Lola
If you couldn't already tell, Lola is a prostitute. She works the Docks! Not much is known about her at this moment.
GTA4 Vehicles
Stealing And Carjacking
* The system of stealing PARKED cars is more complex and involves breaking the window, and hotwiring the engine before you can drive it. While hotwiring, Niko may also become suspicious, taking a moment to glance around, then going back to wiring the car.
* Rockstar promised us that other cars would prove far more difficult to penetrate and that the police would be far savvier when it came to spotting stolen vehicles. Broken windows will get you noticed in Liberty City.
* Four different ways of jacking a vehicle.
How They Will Drive
* The camera angle in a car is closer, to show more of the detail in the car.
* The cars will bend and curve with the weight of the vehicle when turning around a corner and will handle potholes with their suspensions.
* All vehicles have new physics.
* The envioronment when drivng cars is affected.
* You can actually feel a cars bass and sound when you are walking down the street.
* Weather will affect a cars handling.
* You will be able to open/close your windows and to look outside of the car.
Misc.
* There will be no planes, but helicopters are included.
* Public transportation takes a bigger role.
* Don't expect the more fantastical elements from past GTA's such as bikes and jet packs.
* You can leave the ingnition turned on , so that when you leave the car the radio continues playing.
* Helicopters have the ability to land on almost every building.
* You can open the trunk and store items in there.
* The Admiral will be in this game.
* Niko can use taxis to get around (presumably he can use the phone to call a taxi). The police are much more vigilant in GTA IV, and sometimes it is less hassle using a taxi than jacking someone's car. The trip-skip option is available for convenience.
* The comet is in the game.
* On the street of LC, the reporters saw - Ferrari, Volkswagen Jetta, BMWs, Mustangs, delivery vans, SUV's, garbage truck.
What We Think:
* You may be able to use the bus system like you did the train in GTA3.
* Trolleys may be used as transportation.
GTA4 Weapons
Aiming System
* There is an aiming system: the aiming system will hover over his shoulder as he aims. It will use duel analog controls.
* As Niko runs with his gun, the moment he pulls it out to aim, it will hover over his shoulder.
* In a screenshot in a magazine, Niko was seen doing drive-by with a Glock. It may suggests that drive-by is no more dependent only on the SMGs.
* You can hug the wall like in Metal Gear Solid to cover yourself from fire.
* You can also strafe, which is helpful when you take on the police.
Obtaining Weapons
* Unable to simply just walk into Ammunation and buy a weapon, Niko has to search around in alleyways, back streets, basements, etc to obtain them.
* You can also buy ammunition separately.
* You have a friend named Little Jacob. Little Jacob sells the arms (9MM, SMG, Micro SMG) out of the trunk of his car for $100 a piece.
Physics of the Weapon System
* Shooting an enemy in the leg might cause them to fall and shooting them in the shoulder might disarm them
* The direction you attack an enemy from might also determine the result of your actions - creep up behind them and you should get an easy head shot, but take them on face to face and they could well flinch or duck out of the way.
* Melee Combat - You should be able to throw people into walls, furniture or even off rooftops so that they flail desperately to grab for the edge of a fire escape as they plummet to their doom.
* Shooting different parts of the body has different impacts (e.g shoot a security guard in the foot at the top of the stairs, and he'll come tumbling down.
* They have improved the target system with different hitzones on the body.
* Snipers are customizable. Not much is known on this subject.
GTA4 Audio
General
* The soundtrack will be music that fits the theme and mood, not just popular music from the time.
* When walking down the street all sounds blend in with each other - murmured gossip, train sounds, cars music and squealing tires all blend together perfectly.
* Rockstar North is currently working to implement something new based on the radio system. What it is? We have no idea.
* Unlike other GTAs, IV will have a lesser known voice cast and music that isn't distinctly popular or obvious to the 2007 settings. Expect many unsigned bands or indies to show up.
* When asked about custom soundtracks using your consoles hard drive, Dan Houser answered "Possibly".
Artists and Songs
* While driving through in the demo, Kikizo identified the song playing on the radio: Fela Kuti - Sorrow, Tears, and Blood.
* Arm In Arm by The Boggs was the song in the second trailer.
* Ruslana Lyzhicko has songs from her previous and latest album on IV.
Genres
* East Coast Rap and old school Rock is said to be in the game.
* 50's jazz music was playing in the car in a demo at E3.
GTA
